Thursday, September 27, 2007

I don't know if Skip Caray was promised anything beforehand, but he's pretty upset that he's been left off the TBS Postseason Announcing roster. Skip has just gotten back into the booth for The Atlanta Braves (TBS) after a hospital stay for heart complications, but TBS went in a different direction.

Well Skip is pissed that no one has told him anything and has decided to not only take on the network that snubbed him, but the announcers that are there in his place....

"It hurt my feelings, and I'm mad at myself for thinking there was any loyalty left in this business," Caray, the longtime Atlanta Braves broadcaster, said in an interview Wednesday. "I should have known better. They can do whatever they want to do," Caray said, "but I've done a lot of good work for these people, and it's hurtful that they apparently don't think I can do good work anymore."

"I feel like I can do a better job than a tennis announcer or a football-basketball announcer," Skip Caray said. "I'm not knocking Ted Robinson and Dick Stockton, but point of fact is they don't do baseball anymore and I'm there every day."

Ouch. Someone sounds a tad bitter, but I think I would be too. I feel bad that his hospital stay probably played a role in TBS' decision (it's like when an injured QB comes back to the backup playing well), buuuuuut it is a little childish to call out your peers like that. It's not their fault.

TBS has also released a statement in response to TBS and it's as exciting as you'd think it would be: "TBS has put together four telecast teams that we feel will best serve our national baseball audience. ... We appreciate Skip's abilities as a play-by-play announcer and look forward to his [Braves] calls for us next year on Peachtree TV, but we decided to go in another direction as we look to brand our new MLB-on-TBS playoff package."

It stinks when no one gives you any reasoning, but you have to be bigger than that Skip. This happens every year....just do better next year and hope for the best. And don't worry I'll be watching and if a Tennis/Football Announcer says something dumb you'll hear about it.

On another issue, the fact that TBS didn't even call him out of courtesy says much. Loyalty may not be the best choice. Good form seems better and that has been sorely lacking the last fifteen years or so w/r/t such things.

Skip Caray injects a little bit of personality into a broadcast. It's something you can't get from Chip Caray or Joe Simpson or Don Sutton or Jon Sciambi. Most of the big network A-team announcers lack personality. It's like Generic White Sportscenter Anchor Syndrome, if anyone has given a name to the condition I have where I watch Sportscenter almost daily and I don't know any of the anchors who've started at ESPN since around 2001. Skip Caray is the kind of angry, crotchety, bitter old man who makes baseball fun to watch. Plus, he was an alcoholic for a long time and some of those drunken broadcasts were epic. Then there's the period where they had him call Hawks games in the 80s and everyone found out all at once that he is not a basketball guy.

The ad hominem attacks against Skip Carey are shocking, but typical of people whose sport's knowledge is based on watching studio wrestling. Skip and Joe Simpson are the only announcers of the many mentioned in the article that could keep me from using the mute button.

"The ad hominem attacks against Skip Carey are shocking, but typical of people whose sport's knowledge is based on watching studio wrestling. Skip and Joe Simpson are the only announcers of the many mentioned in the article that could keep me from using the mute button."

Well said. Couldn't have put it better myself. The rest of these haters are just that...'haters'.

"The ad hominem attacks against Skip Carey are shocking, but typical of people whose sport's knowledge is based on watching studio wrestling. Skip and Joe Simpson are the only announcers of the many mentioned in the article that could keep me from using the mute button."

Extremely well said, but let me add some more thoughts...to those who would disparage a member of the best team of baseball announcers in all of sports, I should feel sorry for you, but I don't. You have obviously never understood why we are fans and what sports and the Braves means to us as families, citizens and simply good folk. For as long as I can remember and have been listening to sports announcers, Skip and the rest of the Braves crew are the only ones I could ever listen to...period. If a game was not on TBS, I would have to mute the ESPN or other network announcer and tune in to AM750 because I just couldn't stand the BS filler. ESPN, Sports Illustrated and even FSN announcers are nothing more than tabloid media pigs with no sincerity or true devotion and loyalty to the game or people involved. Some advice for you "people," listen closely to the next set of announcers for any sport and ask whether or not what you just heard was blatantly obvious? Ask yourself did they just say that b/c they have nothing else to say? Did it even have any relevancy in the first place? It's all junk from untalented talking heads who repeat the same one liners over and over. Less is more and the Braves announcers were the best. To myself, my family and my friends, the team of Braves announcers and Skip were the ones and anybody with half a wit could see that. The rest of you can go back to watching your fake, ingenious reality Sports TV called ESPN and their ridiculous media ploys to attract the idiots of sports fans and leave the Braves Nation alone...we don't need you. Skip was a gentlemen who truly cared about the fans, the players and all of Braves Nation.

First point, you New York fans are all weiner suckers and I could take any one of you. The only reason the Coney Island hot dog is famous is because you guys like to suck it down while dreaming it was your own. Second point. Come on down South, and we'll glady stick a "Coney Island" up your tush were it belongs.

It is definitely a loss for baseball and its fans that Skip has departed. I can understand that not everyone agrees on which broadcasters they prefer but there is no validation for the attacks on Skip. I listened to Skip/crew on TBS for the last fifteen years and have noticed a marked difference between their style/knowledge/acknowledgement of the opposing teams players/achievements and the majority of broadcasters I have been exposed to, including those in my hometown - Toronto. Skip would have approved (probably leading the cheer) when the hometown Arizona Diamondbacks fans cheered the Pittsburgh pitcher, Jeff Karstens, for his effort in his start in which he took a perfect game into the 8th inning.

Skip not only acknowledged the other teams accomplishments, he acknowledged the other teams fans and what knowledged fans they were. Sure he was Braves loyal and he had a right to be. I started watching around 1981 and Skip and the other announcers taught me everything about baseball and never bored me or put me to sleep. His one liners and lite sarcasum was what made it interesting to me. So all you negative people without a cause should be ashamed of yourselves for posting such biased opinions about someone who cared about his team and cared about you, the fan.

I have thought many time that Skip had an attitude, especially when taking calls from Braves fans and I have often thought that he was calling the games with a less heart and more attitude. However, he was a loyal Braves fan and announcer and I will miss him. I loved watching the nationally televised games while listening to Skip call the games on the radio...he was a grump but he was far more interesting because of it...:)

SKIP WAS GREAT!!! It's gotta be hard to follow in the footsteps of a legend like Harry Carey, but Skip had his own style. I always enjoyed listening to Skip. I felt like he was an honest broadcaster. Of course he wanted the Braves to win but he always would point out when the Braves got a break on a call or if they Braves were not playing well. Skip was Skip what you saw or heard is what you got. I will miss him deeply. God Bless you Skip may you rest in peace.

The main reason I listened to the Braves this year was because I knew it was Skip's last year broadcasting. I knew he didn't have much time left and I had to catch every single broadcast I possibly could or miss the BEST broadcaster on any level of sports anywhere. (Sorry Larry Munson but Skip was better than even you.) And so I heard Skip's last game that Thursday night and I am very glad I did.

Best of luck to Chip and Josh. Chip, I didn't like you all that much when you started but you really have improved lately and I hope that someday you and Josh will get a chance to work some games together.